“Life is not a bed of roses, it’s a journey adorned by barbs & bristles” and only few people have the courage and will to walk through it. Here is the story of a young girl who not only was a dreamer but had the gut to be the doer too.

Stitha Prajna, a girl from a normal middle class family of Jagatsinghpur district completed her graduation in Agricultural Engineering from OUAT and later Agribusiness Management also. Like all other girls she was also in search of a suitable job and was looking for the opportunities. After some days she also managed to find a kind of work for herself which was suited her skill base i.e. agriculture.

Adjustment and satisfaction are two different things. One pays off and the other fills you with peace and happiness. In the world of competition very few people has the courage to choose the second one. This was the decision of Stitha when she was just 25 years old and she resigned from her job. The reason behind was not to be an entrepreneur but the corporate politics.

Days passed by and her happiness were slowly replaced by tensions and pressure. “One moment while turning the pages of a newspaper my eyes glued at something. It was a column about agri-entrepreneurs & agro-industrialists. I wonder if they can, why can’t me?

That was the moment when her mind struck the idea of doing something different and independent. She started scouting more and more. Her knowledge of agriculture from the time of graduation and experience of job started cultivating ideas of business as livelihood. And finally her idea took the place of dream when she came to know about AC&ABC (Agri clinics & Agribusiness Centres) Scheme by Govt of India through which they can get financial support for their start-ups in Agri allied sectors. She searched websites and advertisements and finally came to know about this scheme from CYSD, a 38 years old organisation which works for the betterment of youth and society, their livelihood and their rights too. The major hurdle in the path of her dream was finance and planning for start-ups and this scheme was the key to her success. She joined the AC&ABC training, came across the resource persons who could guide her throughout her zigzag journey.

After the numerous trenches & crests, she could finally see her dream manifesting into reality. Finally, on 8th April 2019, she started a joint venture with Mr. Debasis, another trainee from AC&ABC, as “COINAGE Agri Solutions Pvt. Ltd”, a consultancy firm, which gives demonstrations, marketing facilities to FPOs and scientific cultivation of silage. Now their company has 50 large scale farmers directly as their client and many more small scale producers. It did take a rough whole two years and the work is still in progress, but what is here to focus upon is the ‘progress made’. Apart from financial constraints, being a girl, her family was not in favour of doing business. But her spirit and ambitions never took a snap unless she achieved what she yearns for.

Her company got awarded among top 20 start-ups in India. They have been recognised by the Start-up Odisha as “Innovations in Agriculture” and from IIM, Kolkata as “Social Entrepreneurs”. All these keep her growing and dreaming. She is thankful to the entire team of the ACABC for giving her direction at dilemma like a lighthouse.